


Paying the Ferryman

by nonky



Category: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:54:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonky/pseuds/nonky
Summary: They took Owen's car to the harbour, leaving her car at the guest house. Nancy stood next to him as he pointed the boat toward open water, and she was glad when the distance from shore made everything blur small and indistinct. The world was out there, but it was too far away to bother them. Her phone beeped a notice to tell her reception was failing, and she dropped it into her bag.Spoilers up to Episode 9.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Owen Marvin
Kudos: 26
Collections: Nancy Drew TV Series (2019)





	Paying the Ferryman

Ever since Nick had fixed it, the car ran better than Nancy remembered even from her childhood. She loved the noise of the motor as she accelerated, enough to ignore the ulterior motives in Nick's repairs. He really had done a beautiful job. 

Her repayment of suspicion was valid, though, as was her questioning her father, Ryan Hudson, and even Ace. She was sorry when it hurt someone, but she knew her leads had come from logical, valid ideas. Maybe she hadn't been trained or hired to solve the town's mysteries, but it felt like Lucy had been begging for her help for years. 

Her mistakes exposing her father's secrets would have to find some place to wait until she could help him face his accusers and explain his innocence. There was no other acceptable outcome and she wouldn't stop until he was cleared.

She just needed to catch her breath and get some clarity to come back and follow the next logical step. Her mind wasn't up to finding it without some sleep and getting out of her thoughts of her father in a cell. He'd looked small being bent down into the back of the police car, and his silence was terrible to remember. He should know what to say to get them to let him go. If almost twenty-five years of legal experience hadn't taught him that, she wondered how badly guilty he felt about the night Lucy died. 

She parked at the Marvin's with a glance at the big main house. It was the one she'd assumed Bess meant when she lied about staying with her family. There was easily room for another several dozen Marvins to live there, though Owen clearly preferred the privacy of the guest house. Nancy took her purse and overnight bag with her to the door, uncertain now that the moment had come to announce herself. 

She was known in the neighbourhood, and Horseshoe Bay didn't have gated communities. The richer families liked to treat their summers there like a casual thing, as if they weren't powerful and influential in the world outside. 

She pressed the doorbell before she changed her mind. There were motels and other places to stay, but she wanted to know who she was dealing with. The world felt very large and full of strangers. Owen was at least a stranger who smiled to see her when their paths kept crossing.

He showed up when she called, and the value of that wasn't lost on her. There was nothing obliging someone like him to try to help anyone, and he seemed to genuinely want to do his best. He had gone himself to put up missing child flyers and canvas around the town. As far as she knew, Owen was on site in a hardhat and work boots just like his architects and foremen. He didn't take the excuse of his money to slack off. 

She attempted a smile as he opened the door, shrugging as he took in her luggage with a little nod. 

"Running away from home, are we?"

"Something like that," Nancy told him. She didn't try for the overconfidence that blustered her into more than one place she had no business being. "Is tonight okay to take you up on the guest room?"

"Please, I practically need to move a family of twelve in to justify the carbon imprint of my air conditioning," Owen said. "Hand me your suitcase. I'll show you our second finest suite. It's the one with watercolours of seascapes, not to be confused with our suite featuring oil pastel landscapes of the ocean."

She followed him through a very tasteful interior heavy on lighthouses and neutral furniture. There was a mug steaming on the coffee table and a rerun of Game of Thrones on the television. Owen's laptop was laid to one side of the sofa, and few files were open. 

"I interrupted you," Nancy said. "Um, it didn't occur to me to call ahead, but you're here by yourself, right? If not, I'm perfectly okay to go elsewhere."

He gestured to the flat screen. "Just me and some dragons to help me keep alert. I'm not really into the summer party scene much. I like to keep my projects going unless we hit a snag. I'll take some time off, but I like it here because no one is as fixated on keeping up the social schedule."

She knew he'd have to make a few appearances at family events, and make himself known to represent Pine Hill's business interests. Nancy had to admit she'd barely heard anything about Owen in tabloids. He was pretty understated about his wealth. His clothes and car were expensive, but he didn't go in for flashy attention. 

He was a millionaire, of course. He could drop $1.5 million on an auction without missing the money, and shrug it off when all he got was the loose change from her purse. Nancy paused and he looked back at her. 

"Everything okay?" His dark eyes were genuinely interested, and she thought he really did care. It wasn't anything too deep or enduring yet. He was just a nice guy asking.

"Before you set me up in your home, I should tell you something that might make you less inclined," she told him. "Those ancient Roman coins from a burial site are destroyed. I took them from the party, and the intention was to get them to your FBI agent friend. I was a little paranoid about keeping them safe, and they were exposed to a solvent at the garage. They sort of . . . melted together. It's possible some scans can identify them, but they were a puddle."

The real circumstances of ghosts and demons felt too daunting to attempt with taking responsibility. It was her fault for delaying. Nancy was starting to believe her cases were going to involve a lot of difficult trade offs. She waited for Owen to react, and tracked his resigned acknowledgement until he physically brushed down the front of his casual polo shirt. 

"It was an accident, right," he said quietly. "I mean, I look at you doing what you do and I have to think you wanted justice. It's your whole philosophy in life. I'm disappointed but I can't get angry. We'll find another way. The Hudsons are greedy enough to keep other expensive antiques hidden somewhere, and something else from Bonny Scot will prove they scuttled her on purpose."

Nancy took his free hand and squeezed it gently. "I hope so. I'm really sorry, Owen. It's completely my fault. I wish I could say I'd repay the money, but I think that would be a patently ridiculous offer."

"It was never about money. Twelve lives lost, and even more families missing people forever should have someone willing to put some resources toward putting it right," Owen told her. 

"I haven't given up looking," she said hopefully. "It matters what people do wrong, even a lot of years later. Even when finding out doesn't fix the tragedy. I know of their private storage facility, and I have that address. There is some information gathered about the Hudsons, it's just not really mine to give away freely. I have access to it through a friend. It's a lot of stuff to pick through, and the organization of files is sometimes hard to follow. It's years of research, not all of it useful in an obvious way."

She could tell the way he nodded he knew about Nick's cache of information. Owen wasn't dumb, and both Nick and Ace had demonstrated connections to the Tandy sisters that made them more than curious about the Hudson family. Even if he had to guess which of them she meant, he wasn't going to be misled for long. 

"Maybe you could convince your friend to let me have a look at some of those files," he said. "Tell him I promise I'll play nice. I just want to get them for my Uncle Sebastian. I would have paid the $1.5 million for just the chance at it."

"Um, I can try. It was well hidden as if it needed to be protected, and he believes the creator was trying to limit the number of people who knew it existed. There seems to have been some concern innocent bystanders might be targeted to get at the files before anyone had time to actually find the evidence and compile it meaningfully."

He nodded with a long pause, and Nancy knew he'd made some kind of conclusion between the lines of her careful reply. 

"The last thing I want is to see anyone else getting hurt. Real life isn't like a movie. Justice takes time. Anything else is just -" 

On the screen, the show had continued to play, and dragons were breathing fire like a weapon. Soldiers fell with horrible screaming and writhing death scenes, getting trampled under the other soldiers continuing to fight.

"-Cooking people with your pet dragons," Nancy guessed. 

"Exactly. I don't want to be that guy. He sounds like a real dick. Come on, I'll get you settled and you can go to bed or stay up, have a snack and watch some battles with me."

She was awake and dressed too early, hoping her freshly charged phone would ring with some encouraging news for the day. Maybe her father's friend had made it down the night before and Carson Drew was at home wondering where she was. 

Nancy picked up for an unknown number, unable to give up on any contact she might get from her father. She didn't know if his phone had been taken away and locked up in evidence.

"Hello, this is Nancy Drew."

"Nancy, McGinnis here. I'm sure you don't want to to hear from me, but I had a very quick, unofficial talk with your father last night. He has a lawyer coming, but nothing's going to happen today. I imagine you'd like to visit him, and he asked me to pass along a request you not come. He wanted you to remember you have a court date of your own upcoming."

She knew it wasn't meant unkindly. Her father was still trying to act as her legal counsel, keeping her away from his arrest in case the judge started making connections between her charges and his own. 

"I won't make a scene or interfere with anything," she said, aware she sounded desperate. "I just want to make sure he's okay, and maybe bring him a clean shirt or something?"

"I can't let you in, Nancy," McGinnis said. "I'm sorry. I really am in this case. Personally, I don't see a motive from your father other than money, and if that was his goal he could have gone anywhere else to live and earn more as a legit lawyer. Don't do anything. Snooping will make it all look much worse."

"I can't just sit this out. He's my father."

"He's your father. You love him enough to stay out of it until a professional can be here. Watch tv, go to the beach, and lay low. If the media finds you, no comment. This isn't an official call, Drew. This is what I would want for myself if I'd been arrested last night. It's the advice I'd want my daughter to have."

Nancy had dressed without much care, pulling on shorts and a t-shirt. She knew she owed George a phone call, but she couldn't face telling anyone else what was happening. 

Owen was in the kitchen with at least three pans too many stacked by the sink. Predictably for someone who seemed to be an unexpected answer to hiccups in her cases, his simple breakfast included the promised scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and hashbrowns in warming bowls. He was still going, sauteing some chopped onions and peppers with a few thick tomato slices. 

"Wow, you're really in the business of underselling and over delivery," she said. 

"Good morning." He smiled gently. "Or maybe not so great. Hard time sleeping?"

"A lot on my mind, it happens," she agreed. "I'm not sure if I can help, but I'm willing to try."

"There's, uh, a loaf of whole wheat bread. If you'll throw in four slices I'm doing some BLTs for a picnic later. I was hoping you'd play hooky with me again. It's a great day to go sailing."

She would be far away for a while, probably too far to get the angry phone call she was due for not showing up to work. Nancy was tempted. If the lawyer wasn't going to get in, she could go back to her empty haunted house, or go slowly crazy trying to keep busy at work. Out on the water there was a chance she might be able to breathe easier for a few hours.

"Are you sure you're an important businessman, Owen," she said, trying to respond to his light mood with at least some teasing. "You seem to play hooky a lot for my benefit. I'm okay, you know."

"Well, as a privileged son, I get to make my own hours. The office knows I like to take advantage of the nice weather. I kind of had a day on the boat planned. It's my payoff to myself for flying to Singapore to make a deal," he told her. "I'd love company, though I understand you have something serious going on." 

It would be unbearable to just wait all day with nothing to occupy her mind. Nancy hadn't been sailing in years. She used to go every summer with friends, but had stopped taking invitations once her mother was stuck in bed. 

She dropped four slices of bread into a large toaster, adjusting it hotter. "I've been told nothing can really be accomplished today. Let's go sailing. I'm pretty sure I remember how."

Owen took his eyes off his pan to turn around and grin. "I knew you were up for it," he said. "And I'll do my best to make it so much fun you might smile at me again."

"Thanks, Owen."

"You're doing me the favour. Once I get out on the water, I need someone to admire my seafaring ability. The seagulls have no appreciation."

"Have you tried dating mermaids at all? I hear they like a sailor."

He popped a strawberry into his mouth and chewed it with a lot of eye contact and a loose slink in his shoulders that gave her nervous stomach flutters. "I've heard mermaids can't be trusted. They're all about luring and doom, and a disappointing number of them aren't even redheads," he flirted. 

They took Owen's car to the harbour, leaving her car at the guest house. Nancy stood next to him as he pointed the boat toward open water, and she was glad when the distance from shore made everything blur small and indistinct. The world was out there, but it was too far away to bother them. Her phone beeped a notice to tell her reception was failing, and she dropped it into her bag. 

"Phone dying?"

"No more signal. It's wondering how I'm going to post to my Instagram without it."

"I'll make sure you get some photographic evidence. Give me a few minutes to get us a little further out, and I can show you the one I have from the party."

He meant the Velvet Masque, and Nancy was intrigued. She'd thought that party wouldn't allow photos of anything. The rich and arguably important didn't like to have casual snap shots of their swinging and illegal auctioned goods. She would have ventured Owen was irritated enough to find her there he wouldn't have been interested in a memory of it saved to his phone.

"I assumed photos weren't encouraged with all the orgy rooms and assorted shady dealings," she said. 

"You're one to talk. There's an official photographer who circulates to take candids. He was confused by our navy ensembles and took us for a couple. He got a nice one of us in front of the masks."

She might want that photo. It was possible she'd need to identify a past guest by their memorial. It was also possible she just liked Owen's face, and the way it was easy to be around him even when she was imposing on him for favours. 

The photo was remarkably well lit for the party atmosphere, their bodies leaning in close and her face turned up as Owen must have been telling her about his uncle. She was listening to him with a serious expression, warmed by sympathy. Owen was very groomed and looked even more square jawed and symmetrical than usual. Her dress did match his blue jacket. Her lips were parted, and they were angled into an almost poetic drawing together; like a nascent kiss about to happen.

"We look good," she said, handing his phone back. 

"Much better than you looked with Ryan Hudson," Owen said firmly. 

"I told you I wasn't there with him, I just had to walk in with him," Nancy told him. "He's too old for me, and I met him the night his wife was murdered. It's hardly a meet cute."

He wrinkled his nose. "Some women like a bad guy, or they don't recognize the issues until they feel invested in fixing him."

"I like a good guy, someone nice enough to think of helping the cater waiters or offering a guest room to a person he's only recently met," she said, tipping her head until his face broke into a small smile. 

She laid out a towel on the deck, stripping down the shorts for the striped mint green and white bikini underneath. It wasn't very daring, certainly falling short of Bess' fashionable standards. Nancy just wanted to warm herself and maybe fall asleep for a while. 

She felt the boat stop and gradually bob around until it was gently rocking. A few minutes later, Owen was back with his own towel, setting up a little distance away. 

"And now the fun part. But first," He held up sunscreen. "Help yourself. Remember to reapply. Wouldn't want to be served as a lobster the next time you walk into The Claw."

"Uhm, that might be George's plan for me at this point."

"She's not that scary. You can take her." He was smoothing the lotion on himself, and his chest was glistening distractingly.

"She's kind of right to be mad. I'm not really doing my best there."

"You're coming back from a loss. It takes a long time. Hey, you can talk to me, if you wanted."

There was too much, including having to say out loud that she'd been the one to cause her own father's arrest. Nancy shrugged, knowing she didn't have it in her for that conversation.

"I know I can. I tend to mull things over a while."

"I guess Nick has made the same offer. It might be more of a boyfriend thing," Owen said agreeably.

It was a minor problem after her father's arrest, but it did sting to recall the breakup. She debated letting the comment go, and realized Owen knew Bess, George and Nick well enough now he might be making small talk with them in the restaurant. It would be neater to have him know to avoid the topic with her ex. 

"Nick and I are not together. It always felt a little rushed, and maybe it's for the best."

"All the same, that had to be upsetting. I'm sorry."

"It'll be okay. Nobody's angry. It wasn't a fight. It was just sort of a fizzling out."

Owen let a tactful silence smooth over them, putting on sunglasses and lying flat until he crooked his neck and reached over to tap her arm.

"If you sit up, I think we've got a few dolphins port side."

Nancy sat up and squinted off in the distance, holding her breath until three of them gave a graceful leap out of the waves and back down. She watched them until they were gone, and turned to Owen. He was leaning into her, looking out to the water. 

"This is actually really peaceful. I'm glad I said yes."

"Me, too." 

He leaned into her, his mouth pressing tight for a moment of nerves. Nancy held still, up on her hands behind her. She tipped toward him, and he kissed her gently. He smelled like sunscreen and tasted very faintly like a drink with lemon-lime in it. She let him take his time, relaxing into it. 

Owen's hand came up to the far side of her face, petting her hair back. He ran it down to her shoulder, and scooted closer to her. When her mouth opened, he glanced down and put his hand very politely just on her waist.

She brought her legs in and sat up, one hand going to his broad chest. His body gave a little flex when she touched him lightly, and then they were really kissing. His tongue moved quickly against hers, the sun starting to feel too hot along with Owen's nearness. 

There was a little deception in him, a want and a demand he buried under steady manners and favours he didn't want returned. Nancy had known it about him since the night of the party, when his price for help had been her safety. No one wanted absolutely nothing in return for what they gave, but she thought Owen might just want to be near her. She should be nervous of that, but he felt good. His grip was careful not to close down and send her running. 

She lost herself to it like the sun and the salt air, letting her hands roam to get small reactions and motions that shifted them closer until she was draped across his arm. He was a good kisser and even better at knowing exactly the moment her misgivings just disappeared in pleasure. 

He pulled back and looked down at her. "I want to know if you taste as good as you look right now."

"I don't usually-"

"No, nothing about you is usual, Nancy. It's really, really hot sometimes how surprising you continue to be. I even like the black eye a little. Makes me feel like I'm getting seduced by a really beautiful pirate who's swung onto my boat."

"Owen! You're way too handsome to need to be this charming."

"No strings here. It's just a beautiful day with a beautiful woman. Not gonna lie, I've been wanting you since I met you. I wasn't sure I'd get a chance. "

He was pressed snug to her hips, unmistakably hard against her. Nancy wanted to grind on him, and she knew she should slow things down. It was a little too soon after Nick. Owen was too nice to use. He was hovering above her, eyes roaming with hot, fond glances across her tingling skin. The thumb that had snuck under her top was circling her nipple maddeningly. 

"Okay."

"Just to clarify, no strings means I'm also not seeing anyone else. 100% single. I like to be one on one. Anything else feels cheap."

He had a focus she'd felt was similar to her own, though his was more about socializing and networking. Nancy met his eyes. "Nothing cheap about you," she said. 

He took a moment to kiss her again, this time very softly and lingeringly. His mouth traced her jaw and he nipped along her neck. The delicacy was comforting. There was no possessive edge to it when he cupped under her hips and pulled down her swim bottoms, staying on top of her as he eased it over her feet. 

Owen started off gentle and teasing, letting her open for him with every squirming quiver of her hips. Nancy covered her mouth with the back of her hand, quieting herself for no real reason. She liked how he just used his mouth, not holding her legs at all. He held his weight off her, hands on the sides of her body. The backs of his fingers slipped between her and the towel. He was very steady and calm, bent over her without straining. He seemed okay with any amount of contact, letting her shy back as she moved and waiting eagerly to put his mouth back on her pussy to lap at her with long, unhurried strokes. 

The heat of him with the sun was almost suffocating, but she was starting to want it to overwhelm her senses. She was shivering with arousal, knew she was slick and moving her legs in jerky motions. Owen finally put his hands on her hips and held her into it, obviously ready to make her come that way. She had wrapped a fist into his hair, and realized she was pushing and pulling at him. 

"Do you have protection?"

He turned his neck, the side of his face pressed with tantalizing stubble to her inner thigh. "I do, but I don't want to rush you. This is just perfect, Nancy."

"It's amazing, but I want you," she said. 

He took a deep breath, nuzzling across her curls with a little sigh of effort. "Okay, give me one minute. I'm not sure about my sea legs."

He picked his way around her, sitting up and tipping his head down before he stood up. Nancy watched him walk into the cabin, glad he hadn't had a condom right at hand. She wouldn't have wanted him to presume as much. They just hadn't spent enough time together previously to be sure she'd have wanted him once they had an extended amount of alone time.

She felt weird lying out with her legs open, and got up to pull the pads off a deck chair. Laying them flat on the deck, she smoothed a towel over the improvised bed and took another one to cover herself. 

Owen returned with a few extra towels, giving her a checking look before he pulled off his swim trunks. He put on a condom and pulled the towel away to lay on top of her. He was back to being scrupulously gentle, glancing down at himself sliding slowly into her body and then to her face to get her reaction. Nancy knew she had gone very still, so she smiled at him reassuringly. 

"I'm good. You feel good."

She ran her palms along his ribs, feeling his back flex as he started moving with hesitation. Owen kissed her lightly, still unwilling to go harder without watching her respond. Nancy bent her knees higher, giving him more space he took happily. The extra close fit made her gasp, but she didn't muffle it. He bit her bottom lip with a tiny sting, and she purred her pleasure. 

His hands had been carefully next to her hips but not pulling at her. Owen cupped her under her ass and tipped her wider. He didn't lose the gentleness, but his motions sped up as he started moving more aggressively. 

Nancy wanted a little too much, bare under the sun with a strong man helping her forget herself. She wanted it to ratchet up almost unbearably into sensations, and wreck her with a release that shut her thoughts down for a while. She wanted to watch Owen frantic and goading and lost in fucking her. It was all or nothing, and when the all was pleasure she wanted to own it. 

"This is when you get to stop being a gentleman, Owen," she whispered. "Even a little bit rough, if you like."

He paused, and she returned his thorough but delicate kiss despite herself. He was about three layers of classy too good to be true, and she should be wondering about it if this had started as a date. Her speed with men might be fast but casual for a while, and that was starting to feel okay as a part of coping with a bad year. 

"What an insensitive way to speak to me as you take my virginity, Nancy Drew," he scolded her jokingly. "Next you'll be telling me we're not announcing our engagement before the end of the summer. This playing hard to get is making me work awfully hard here." 

She threw her head back and actually had to cover her mouth to muffle her laughter. It was weird how easily he could transport her out of her quietly serious worries and into moments of silliness. Owen was Nick's opposite, determined to keep them on the surface tension of their meetings, floating above how serious and deep they could dive into it all. 

"You're ridiculous!"

"I've performed five favours for you," he said, hips picking up with a stirring motion she felt kindle a little differently on her belly as she moved to meet him. "One more with a well and a golden ball and you have to call me your royal frog. I'll be sleeping on your pillow every night. You might as well put a ring on it. I'll keep myself pretty for you."

Nancy believed he would stay dangerously handsome for a lot of years. She reached down and pulled her top off, both of them cooperating with little gasps as they worked it over her head. 

"It's a little early to propose for me," she said. "How about I show you my breasts and you fuck me just a little harder?"

"You're a brutal negotiator," Owen drawled. He mouthed the side of her throat on the way down to leave thirsty licks to her nipples, giving both of them a patient massaging draw into his lips. 

She relaxed her leg as he looped his forearm underneath it, bringing it up to his bicep and riding the angle into the deeper jolt of contact. Nancy put her hand out to brace on the other side. Her lungs felt like she was running for her life, but the warmth of her abdomen was a fire now. She wanted to melt down and overspill, the excess emotions getting a good venting instead of having to be pushed aside. It was past time it was for a good reason instead of a scary moment or a long, stressful pileup. 

She knew Owen was still looking at her, feeling his eyes go down to the nearly nonexistent gap when he slipped his cock away and then ground it back to take her hard. She had to shut her eyes, his olive skin and dark hair reminding her a little too much of Nick to make her feel entirely good about her choice to go this far. 

The break of sensation came with a change of angles, a little rolling tumble back and forth on the deck with the waves, and Owen's nearly cruel grip on her chin to open her mouth for his drugging kiss. She vibrated with the panting want, not even seconds marked between clenching pulses of her body working his cock ruthlessly. Owen groaned a little protest as she yanked at him, but he held her as the squeeze racked the glowing sparks filtering out through her body.

The holding back was over, the new looseness in her hips bending her up around him as he took her for himself. He might not want to keep her once he knew more about her, but Nancy wasn't ready to be kept. She just wanted to be full, heated and encompassed in some solace for all the effort it had taken to get through her days. She wanted to live, even in the hardest moments, but bracing for him to come was a very good one. He bucked into her embrace, finally hitting the stride of passion she'd known he needed. 

"Pour it out to me," Nancy whispered. "Give it to me. I want you, Owen."

In the moment, she meant it. He twisted with a little grind of teeth, rolling his face roughly across her breasts. He almost seemed to fight with himself until he let go and jerked in her arms. 

They were a sweaty knot of limbs for a few minutes, and she had to nudge him. It was hard to tell between the sweat and sunscreen, but she didn't want a leaky condom. 

"Sorry, I'm going," he mumbled. "Jesus. I was kidding about my virginity, but I think you broke something down there on me."

Nancy sighed as he pulled out, taking a towel to cover herself and picking up her suit to carry it into the cabin. She washed up and splashed water on her face, dressing in the tiny bathroom. She found Owen back in his own suit, sitting up with a bottle of water tipped to his mouth as he drank convulsively. 

"That was the hardest favour yet," he told her. "I should have started my day with yoga."

"Drink your water, old man," she teased him. "I need you to sail us back in because I don't remember all my rigging lines."

He made room as she spread a fresh towel down, kissing her shoulder. "I should have taken my chances with the mermaids and pirates at the same time. I need a nap."

Nancy sifted her hand through his hair, even though it was pretty hopeless trying to style it before a shower. She let his head fall to her chest for a few minutes, the cool bottle of water handed to her. 

"What makes you think you didn't do just that," she said. "A lady can be both if she wants, particularly if she's been crowned Sea Queen."

"No kidding, Your Majesty. Drink up. I'll get us some more water and our picnic once I can walk across the deck without falling off the boat."

Nancy lay flat as she swallowed the last of the water, Owen moving next to her to nuzzle her hair. She stared into the sun, petting his fingers as he wrapped an arm across her waist.


End file.
